John Podhoretz Attacks Jill Carroll

Today, Christian Science Monitor reporter Jill Carroll released after three months of being held in captivity in Iraq by kidnappers. The National Review’s John Podhoretz responded by attacking her mental state:

It’s wonderful that she’s free, but after watching someone who was a hostage for three months say on television she was well-treated because she wasn’t beaten or killed — while being dressed in the garb of a modest Muslim woman rather than the non-Muslim woman she actually is — I expect there will be some Stockholm Syndrome talk in the coming days.

This is a day that we should celebrate Jill Carroll’s courage. She put herself in danger to try to give the world a more accurate picture of Iraq. It is totally inappropriate to assume that her description of how she was treated is motivated by anything other than a desire to tell the truth.

Podhoretz owes Jill Carroll an apology.

http://thinkprogress.org/2006/03/30/podhoretz-attacks-carroll/

who is taking shots at a courageous woman.

A pox on him.

country. She always dressed in that manner prior to being kidnapped.

They should give the girl a break.

A classless, clueless individual. It must be very painful to be he.

I thought there was something odd about her statementzs too. And what about the thick glasses and the repetition of the "it is important that you know I was well treated. And then the bizzarre statements anout the furniture being "being good" . Even the PM described her as "scared". Later in the interview she was asked if it was too soon to talk about this and she said it was. There is something not right here.

The fact is, she does not want to be used as a part of the warmaniacs propaganda machinery. That is admirable. That is why that neo-con is irritated.

But surely the overriding emotion should be happiness that Carroll was released alive and apparently unharmed. For Podhoretz to jump right in and spout an uninformed opinion as he does looks like an “attack” on Carroll to me – not that she probably gives a hoot what Podhoretz says anyway. But Podhoretz is trying to stake out a spot early for questioning whatever Carroll says about her captivity in the coming days and weeks, ready to cast a doubt on anything she says.

Considering that Podhoretz apparently doesn’t know very much about Carroll, her work in Iraq, or anything else about her except that she was held hostage and now is free, his negative estimation of whether she’s suffering from Stockholm Syndrome seems at the very least mean-spirited.

in order to gain her released.

Glad she's safe, though. :thumbsup:

attack them if you think they might hurt you

Would Podhoretz change his tune if Carroll reports later that her captors served her lemon chicken?

I guess detaining a human being against his or her will is only wrong when "they" do it to "us."

And rice pilaf?

:rofl:

which is something that the Faux & Friends crew neglected to mention in their evil, little coffee kaltch this morning. Chriatiane Amanpour wears a headscarf in Muslim countries when appropriate.

tempering her remarks in order to avoid endangering them. At any rate, I would think that everyone should be happy that she was released unharmed without attacking her or the circumstances of her release.

if she was mistreated. Was she supposed to lie?

had been released. She hadn't had time to oh say run home and change her clothes to something that might better suit Podhoretz's sense of appropriate attire for Western women.

Second, I think I recall a few other hostages have reported being "well treated," that is, not beaten, starved or killed. Given the possibilities and fates of other hostages not so fortunate to have a good outcome, one could say that being well cared for could be viewed as good treatment, given the circumstances.

I suspect Carroll also had reason to be careful in her comments. Other people are still held hostage by others, she has Iraqi friends who are vulnerable every day as they live and work in Iraq. Pod perhaps is disappointed that she didn't come out and shriek against her captors ala Coulter.

And the clowns who want to claim or suggest that Carroll was complict in her kidnapping forget that her friend and interpreter was left shot dead in the street. They would have Carroll portrayed not only as a willing captive but an accomplice to the cold blooded murder of a colleague.